Brandon McCarthy

Five Key Holes the Rangers Need to Fill This Winter, and How They Should Fill Them

Just a few days after the 2012 MLB season kicked off in Japan, one of the elite players scheduled to become a free agent in the coming offseason took himself off the market. The Giants enticed Matt Cain to stay in San Francisco, signing him to a six-year, $127.5 million contract extension -- the mos ... More >>

A Texas Rangers Midseason Report: It's Time to Go All In

With the baseball season at the symbolic halfway point, we asked former Unfair Parker Sam Merten to root around in his beard and see if he could come up with anything to say. He obliged ... and obliged ... and ... Sports are unpredictable. That's why we watch. And there's no greater evidence than t ... More >>

Albert Pujols Better Than Joltin' Joe? Say It Ain't So!: Texas Rangers-St. Louis Cardinals World Series Preview and Game 1 Open Thread

Texas RangersGives you that warm, fuzzy feeling inside, doesn't it?​It's finally here. Pinch yourself. Your Texas Rangers are back in the World Series, and this time feels much different than last year's playoff run. There's a confidence flowing through my body that just wasn't there before, a ... More >>

Texas Rangers' Pitching Staff: No. 3 in the AL West

​I fully admit it, at the end of last season I was calling for C.J. Wilson to pitch Game 1 of the American League Division Series. Considering the way he'd pitched all year and the way Cliff Lee had struggled at times it made sense. Turns out both pretty pitched damn skippy in the playof ... More >>

Dear Santa: Please Put a World Series MVP Under the Tree. Pretty Please?

Matt Garza's widely considered to be the best starter available, but could a better pitcher be had for the right price?​It's almost Christmas, and the Texas Rangers haven't done anything to address the hole in the rotation left behind when Cliff Lee signed with the Philadelphia Phillies and th ... More >>

My (Fausto) Carmona: Plan B Now That Cliff Lee and Zack Greinke Are Headed Elsewhere

Trading for Fausto Carmona would help ease the pain of losing out on Lee and Greinke.​Since we can all feel OK about losing out on the Cliff Lee sweepstakes, it's fair to evaluate Jon Daniels' Plan B, especially with the trade of Zack Greinke -- easily the best pitcher to be had on the marke ... More >>

Rangers and Yanks Both Lose Cliff Lee Sweepstakes as Southpaw Heads Back to Philly

Sam MertenThanks for the memories, Cliff.​After much procrastination, former Texas Rangers ace Cliff Lee has decided to return to the Philadelphia Phillies, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan, with Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweeting that the deal is for five years and approximately $ ... More >>

Dallas Gang Leader, Drug Dealer and Apparent Exotic Animal Lover Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy

We're thinking the kiddos at Pinkston High School weren't having a tough time getting high last year. (The markers are streets where drug houses were located.)​Tyrone Weatherall, the 35-year-old leader of the "West Side Gator Boys," pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to possess wi ... More >>

As Rangers Look to Add Another Game to Division Lead Tonight, a Reminder of the Architect of This Surprising Bunch

Photos by Sam MertenAll-Stars Josh Hamilton and Elvis Andrus​As Richie mentions in this week's paper version of Unfair Park, the Texas Rangers could be headed toward their winningest season in franchise history, as they nabbed their 50th win of the season last night and increased their lead to ... More >>

Whitt's End: 3.26.10

​Whether you're at the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt's End: *While Donovan McNabb is dangled by the Philadelphia Eagles and Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers conveniently avoids talking to the police about possible rape charges, isn't it nice th ... More >>

Texas Rangers Pitch In to Help Cedar Hill High, While Tom Hicks Jr. Apologizes (Again)

​Let's start this item with some kind words for (for now) Tom Hicks Sr.'s baseball club, which, at 12:30 p.m. today will help out Cedar Hill High School, where students returned from the winter break to find the baseball team's field house ransacked and more or less destroyed by vandals. Texas Ran ... More >>

Moves by Rangers at Winter Meetings Has Our Baseball Weenie Harden-ing

Meet the Rangers' new ace: Rich Harden​Despite the financial restraints stemming from the team's unresolved ownership situation, Texas Rangers general manager Jon Daniels skillfully inked the most dominant free-agent starter at this week's Winter Meetings in Indianapolis without adding payroll ... More >>

The Rangers May Be Out But They Are Not Down--Not Come Next April

The Texas Rangers and Their Holland Tunnel

Now isn't the time for potential. It's the time for production. Right?​The Rangers' past is sucky and their future is murky. There are frightening skeletons in the closet and financial potholes down the road. The present, however, smells delicious. That's why Derek Holland should be taken o ... More >>

Rangers 5-5, Blue Jays 2-2. My Top 10 Observations.

'Twas a sweep. Get it?​10. I'm impressed. Your Texas Rangers bounced back from Monday's gut-wrenching 18-10 loss with typical, testosteroned resiliency. Granted, the Blue Jays suck - 18 runs one night; last night only 12 hits in 18 innings - but the Rangers could've caved. They didn't. 9. I ... More >>

Whitt's End: 8.14.09

​Whether you're at the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt's End: *Lots of you asking for a breakdown of the latest Arbitron PPM radio ratings for July. Not worth a separate item these days because - yawn - The Ticket's dynasty just rolls on. Dunham & Miller ... More >>

Neftali Feliz: Deal or No Deal?

Mark GrahamShould Feliz and his 100 mph-plus heater be headed to Arlington or Toronto?While Ian Kinsler's bat - the first player with both a lead-off and walk-off homer in the same game - last night gave the Texas Rangers a momentary pulse, let's talk about the future of a dominant arm down on the ... More >>

The Texas Strangers

Seriously, who are these guys? With generally the same cast of characters that has face-planted out of the gate the last two seasons, the Texas Rangers are off to a dream start. Granted 2-0 gets only a subtle nod in Boston or New York or Anaheim, but in Arlington it's cause to get Laura Mi ... More >>

Play Baaaaaaalllllllllll!

No time to dilly-daddle this morning, as I'm headed out to Arlington for Texas Rangers' Opening Day. Gotta get there in time to beat some traffic, smell the fresh-cut grass and, of course, see former Prez George W. Bush throw out the first pitch. I know it'll never happen, but wouldn't Dub ... More >>

New Park. Old Rangers?

Upgrades be damned, Rangers Ballpark in Arlington is dwarfed in size and stature by Jonestown Coliseum.Went out and toured "new" Rangers Ballpark last month. Well, not exactly new, but how about refurbished? New video scoreboard in left field. Information ribbons wrapping the place. A fashion ... More >>

Dwarfed by the Cowboys' New Stadium, the Rangers Spiffy Up Their Park

Rangers Spring Training Grades

TexasRangers.com The kid's catching on pretty fastOnly 19 days until the Texas Rangers open the 2009 regular season at home against the Cleveland Indians. In other words, time for some mid-spring training grades. So far, so good I'd have to say. No major injuries. Josh Hamilton is pound ... More >>

Whitt's End: 3.13.09

Whether you're at the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt's End: *I promise to watch Terrell Owens' reality show on VH1. Provided that I get to see the unedited footage of T.O.'s reaction when agent Drew Rosenhaus calls with the four most depressing words an athlet ... More >>

Play Ball! 5 Players the Rangers Need to Have a Good Spring Training

Spring has sprung. Look out your window. And turn on your radio. Not only is it supposed to hit 80 degrees here today, but the Texas Rangers make their Spring Training debut on new weekday home 105.3 The Fan in, oh, about three hours. I know yesterday was the unofficial official opene ... More >>

The Hapless Texas Rangers Turn to their Farm System

At What Point Do We Question How the Texas Rangers Handle Their Pitchers?

Yep, the Rangers' pitching staff is always a head-scratcher. This year? No diff. Stop me if you've heard this one before: Your Texas Rangers have pitching problems. If you're scoring at home, that's two similar season-ending surgeries in one week. After top prospect and rotation candidat ... More >>

Bad Rangers' Pitching News and it's Only Friggin' January

From the same team that lost Adam Eaton in spring training 2006 just hours after general manager Jon Daniels announced his starting rotation comes news that top pitching prospect Eric Hurley has undergone rotator cuff surgery and is out for the 2009 season. In news that will surprise no one: Range ... More >>

Another Rangers’ Trade that Completely Sucks Ass

Plan See

With blueprints A and B trashed, the Rangers have stumbled onto a visually stimulating development

Past the Halfway Mark, the Rangers Look Like Contenders and Pretenders

Your Rangers Officially Don’t Suck

Ron Washington for Manager of the Year

Arm-Chair Managing in the Hours Before Ron Washington's Fired

Can Nolan Ryan Save the Texas Rangers? Again?

One Bone Down, Hank Blalock Hopes to Help the Rangers Get Back Up

Play Ball! Notes from Texas Rangers Spring Training, Thus Far.

The Texas Rangers Provided Us With Yet Another Season in Hell

Lunchtime Dot Race, Anyone?

Boy Blunder

Is baseball's youngest general manager man enough to rebuild the Rangers?

Tom Hicks: Wait Till Next Year … Or The Next ... Or The Next ...

Stinko de Mayo

Oh and 162?

Mood Swings

The Rangers' hitting coach is remarkable, resilient and really good at his job

Play It Again, Sammy

Can the Rangers' oldest rookie leave his diva days behind and deliver?

So Here's To You, Mr. Robinson

The Texas Rangers: By Disappointing, They Do Not Disappoint

C.J. Wilson Appears to Have a Very Bad Sense of Humor

Washington Monument

New Rangers manager injects hope and, yep, even optimism in Arlington

Sounds Like Richie Could Use Some Baseball

Danks For Nuthin'